After being held, bound in chains, tape, and handcuffs, in a closet in an undetermined location in the Bronx for seven days, he was released in exchange for a $750,000 ransom ($4.63 million in 2023).
[1] The Teich case was also cited in a 1975 New York Times article indicating kidnappings had increased over the previous ten years.
[3] Jack Teich (born February 3, 1940) was reported missing by his wife, Janet, on November 12, 1974, after he failed to return home from work.
The ransom was paid, with Teich's wife and brother following instructions to leave the money in a locker in Pennsylvania Station.
[9] In January 1984, while still serving his sentence, Williams was awarded $35,501 in damages after his lawyer Fern Steckler successfully argued he was denied civil rights in 1976–1977.
Although it was nearly 10 years after the trial, a 1986 US Supreme Court case (Batson v Kentucky) gave Williams’ open appeal a new avenue.
Overruled by the judge in 1978, the defense objected to six peremptory challenges used to dismiss black prospective jurors from the panel.
In June 1997, Williams was released after Judge Frank Gulotta sentenced him to 6 2/3 to 20 years, the maximum being slightly less time than he had already served.
[11] Teich vowed at that 1997 hearing to continue seeking repayment through civil suit for trauma and the unrecovered ransom, for a sum of $2,000,000.